Synthesis and detailed characterization of sustainable starch-based bioplastic

There is an urgent requirement of replacing the environmentally hazardous petroleum-based plastics with sustainable and efficient starch-based bioplastics. Development and detailed characterization of the biodegradable bioplastics from plant-based polysaccharides such as starch is essential to reduce plastic pollution in the environment. In this research, bioplastics were developed from an equivalent blend of starch from two different sources namely rice and potato (1:1, w/w), crosslinked with different concentrations of citric acid (CA). The effect of CA cross-linking of starch-based bioplastics was investigated on its physicochemical and functional properties. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra revealed that the synthesized bioplastics were amorphous in nature with broad diffraction peaks. Further, the peak at 1716 cm⁻¹ in Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra indicated the formation of ester bonds in CA cross-linked bioplastics. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed the surface roughness of the bioplastics decreased with increasing concentration of CA. Mechanical and thermal properties of bioplastics were characterized using universal testing machine, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively.